Some Things Unexpected
by tigerfeet
Summary: In the days before Eomer's exile from Rohan, he and his Rohirrim stumble across a wounded stranger after taking down a band of Orcs. They bring her back to Edoras to recover where upon she and Eomer develop a deep bond -- Eomer / OC -- rated M later
1. Chapter 1

**N: As I always say…I have a kajillon fics on the go at any given time but it's very hard for me to resist a plot bunny when one takes up residence in the back of my brain. To be honestly, most of the time these plot bunnies are as a cause of very good-looking men but hey, whatever right? **

**I've been watching a great deal of LOTR lately and in the process of doing so have been drooling over Eomer quite a bit and got inspired because of this. For those of you receiving this alert who are following me because of my SPN fic, don't worry…I haven't abandoned it and an update is coming in the next couple of days, I just needed to get this started or I was going to be driven INSANE by having all these little snippets of this idea nag at me in my head. I absolutely HAD to start to write it to get it out of me so be patient. **

**For the sake of my fic this is mostly movie based though there will be some parts drawn from the books. It is an Eomer / OC fic so if you don't like non cannon pairings please avoid because I really don't want to have to deal with flames regarding canon issues. My OC's can be a bit Sueish at times but at the very least I try to keep the writing decent to good so hopefully that makes up for it. **

**Don't like the story, don't read…that simple. **

**I appreciate reviews and constructive criticism always.**

**Oh, and unfortunately I do not own anything/anyone recognizable from LOTR…I wish I did…. believe me I wish I did. I own but my poor little OC (Araariel) and several others along the way.**

**Guess that's it.)**

_Some Things Unexpected_

a LOTR fanfiction by

tigerfeet

_**Prologue:**_

War was on the horizon; that much was clear to anyone who had half their wits about them. Even were there not talk of a council called in the house of the elf lord Elrond, even without having known of the attacks on the provinces of Gondor, and even without having known of the storm and the threat growing in the cursed land of Mordor, it was all but as clear as day that but in a short time full blown war would be waged across the free lands of Middle Earth. Bands of Orcs and even fouler creatures traveled boldly in the open, setting out to lay siege on unsuspecting cities and villages, men of the east were flocking to take up with Sauron and Saruman's forces alike.

War was on the horizon, that much was for certain. It was only a matter of time and all that was left to do now was prepare and cling to some small ray of hope that permeated the darkness of an otherwise hopeless conflict looming heavy in everyone's thoughts.

Eomer and his Eored had been in at large just over a fortnight, striking down a band of Orcs every other night, sometimes two if fortune shone upon them. The loathsome creatures were routinely passing closer and closer to the domains of Rohan and Eomer was not about to allow them to reap death and destruction on his countrymen. He had been forced to witness the slow decline of his uncle at the hand of Grima Wormtongue and if he could do nothing yet to prevent the subtleties of the attack against his own kin, he would at least protect his people with all he had.

It was on the seventeenth night at roam, after the company lost count of the number of Orcs they had slaughtered, that the men found something that they did not quite expect.

They had wrought by their standards a magnificent battle against a small band of creatures just at the border of Rohan through the outskirts of Fangorn Forest. The land was still and the woods littered with corpses; the thrill of victory instilled a renewed sense of energy and excitement in the men and Eomer fought to reign them in and restore a small semblance of order, there was work to be done yet and little time to do it before the breaking of dawn.

"Start gathering the bodies!" He barked, moving Firefoot over the terrain and around the fallen Orcs. "We pile the carcasses and set them alight come dawn! A swift message will be sent! Any fell beast that dare enter our borders will find a fast death be it by blade, spear, or bow! Neither Sauron nor Saruman will claim these lands so easily no matter what form their servants take! We will cut them down as they come and show no mercy."

He pulled up his mount and swiftly swung from the horse's back, setting about his own business of seeking out any lingering Orc cowards taken shelter in the near by underbrush in an effort to ensure none were left to draw breath and raise alarm to any following parties for if there was any cowardly filth about, the underbrush in Fangorn would serve their purposes well and keep them well hidden if not thoroughly scouted. He had only just begun his search when his attention was suddenly jarred from its task.

"My Lord Eomer!" A young rider called Amleth called from just beyond a slight abutment where in the trees were tangled with a large mound of earth and rock. "Something peculiar rests just head…I do not think it is Orcish!"

"Bring it down on account!" Eomer shouted in reply as he regained his focus. "We leave none alive!"

"A woman! My Lord a woman!" Another rider called frantically. "Over here! Come quickly!"

Eomer's head jerked upwards, brow furrowed slightly at the announcement as he made his way towards the discovery. There were few who dared travel the passages of Fangorn alone, let alone come night fall come the best of times; what business would anyone have of making the journey through the woodland during times of growing unrest when even the safest areas of Middle Earth were far from such.

Never the less, the minute details of the situation were not important at that moment as upon moving around the great mound of earth and rock, Eomer took note of the scene before him. There on the ground, wounded and unconscious lay a lone female traveler clad in dark colored, and now muddied cloak and garb, crumpled in an awkward heap half on her side with her back towards him.

Taking a knee gently rolled her towards himself so as to get a better. Her already porcelain complexion had started to grey slightly and she was quite cool to the touch, but still a little lingering warmth and the faint swell and fall of her chest told there was life in her yet. Her head was bloodied at the temple, matting dark hair sticky to her scalp and betraying fine and elegant features with jarring rivulets of crimson that trailed downwards from the wound.

"Her arm is broken." Amleth dropped to his haunches now too, gently lifting the contorted limb from the ground. "What has happened here?"

"An ambush perhaps. " Eomer replied, continuing his inspection of the maiden, trailing his fingers lightly over a shallow slashed laceration across the corner of her upper lip. "They must have come upon here just before we on them."

"She is too dark of hair to be of us." Amleth offered. "From Dunland?"

He shook his head. "More likely from Gondor I should think."

"But where is her traveling party? And what purpose has she here?"

"None can tell…but she cannot stay as she lay."

"You mean to carry her to Gondor then?" Amleth arched a brow.

"She may not last that journey. She is cold and wet…a fever will no doubt take hold of her before long." Eomer snatched a heavy woolen blanket tethered to the pack of a near by horse and wrapped it gently about the wounded stranger before slipping his arms beneath the wounded stranger and plucking her swiftly from the ground. Cradling her weight gently against his chest he moved back towards Firefoot, carefully lifting the girl upon his back before taking mount behind her in the saddle. "We will ride her to Edoras and hope that she makes the journey there."

Amleth nodded and lent a hand in mustering the men as Eomer began to move off.

"Right, you heard him! Leave the Orc filth…we make for Edoras at once!"


	2. Chapter 2

**(A/N: Not much time for an A/N tonight as I really need to get to bed but thanks guys for favoriting / story alerting my fic :D those who are getting this and anxiously waiting for my SPN fic update…TOMORROW I swear it will be up tomorrow.)**

_**Chapter Two: A Stranger Among Them**_

Eowyn's footsteps clattered against the stone of the steps and echoed through the still air as she hurriedly made her way towards her uncle's hall both out of excitement and out of dread. She had heard of the Eored's return to Edoras but and with the news of their return came the news of returning with one who was injured and as was always the case, as the news spread throughout town the details shifted more times than could be counted and there was no getting a straight story if life itself depended on it. Times being what they were, it was hard for her to do anything but fear the worst; even one as skilled in battle as her brother was not immune to falling in combat. If by chance luck held and Eomer had returned unscathed, Eowyn had known most of the men in his company for many a year, if not her entire life to date, and it would grieve her to see any of them come to harm; unavoidable as it was, or not.

Muscling open the heavy oak doors of the hall and striding purposefully down an empty and somewhat foreboding corridor, Eowyn's mind was laid to rest at the sight of Eomer, a little road worn but none the less in one piece, loitering just outside a room not but halfway down the hallway.

"I worried." She sighed in relief, a broad smile painted across her face as she wrapped her arms about her brother and gave him a warm.

"You always worry." Eomer quipped and returned Eowyn's welcome. "Even when you have no cause to."

"I heard of an injury." Eowyn furrowed her brow in concern. "I thought that was cause enough. No one could speak of who it was who had come to harm...no two recountings were alike…I thought perhaps they hid the truth with a purpose. Surely you cannot find fault in my fret on account."

"You are right, and I am sorry. A good brother would not leave his sister on her own to worry as often as I." Eomer sighed and laid a comforting hand on his sister's shoulder. "But set your mind at ease Eowyn; I've come to no harm save a small scratch on my hand." He pulled off his glove and shoved his hand direct in her line of sight and smirked. "If you still have mind to fuss and fret."

Eowyn heaved and exasperated sigh and backhanded her brother playfully. "You would do well not to tease me, the day may come when you look to me to care only to find I do not."

"Perhaps." Eomer shrugged non chalantly, goading another blow from Eowyn.

"Who then of your men is wounded? And how badly? It is nothing serious I hope."

"The wounded is not of our own."

"Not of our own?" Eowyn echoed, curiosity stirred. "Then of who?"

Eomer nodded his head in the direction of the room. "See for yourself."

Motionless, Eowyn regarded him questioningly before satiating her inquisitiveness and shuffling towards the room with Eomer close in toe. There on a small yet adequate bed next to a well-stoked fire, was the injured in question. The sweet smell of herbs lingered in the air in sharp contrast to the musk of the ash and smoke of the fire as an aging nursemaid gently cleaned and applied a generous amount of thick healing save to the wound on the unconscious woman's head before turning and flashing Eowyn a quiet smile and a respectful nod of her head upon taking notice of her entry into the room.

"Not one of our own indeed." Eowyn muttered, eyes roaming over the still form of the woman before flicking to the sodden earthy green cloak and similar hued garments hanging to dry by the fire; resting among them a long sword resting in a sheath inlayed delicately with an intricate silver leafed pattern and quiver half filled with arrows, the bow to which they belonged leaned in the corner of the room. "That is the garb of a ranger."

"And not only that m'lady." The nursemaid, known to Eowyn as Myldrith, offered softly. "Come nearer and have a gander if you so wish."

Eowyn complied and leaned over the bed as Myldrith carefully skirted a handful of still dampened dark locks away from obscuring the view of a slightly elongated and gently pointed ear.

Eyes as wide as dinner plates, Eowyn half grinned over her shoulder in a mixture of excitement and intrigue; a smile returned by Eomer near instantly. Long had he known of his sister's desire for some kind of glorious life beyond the familiar walls of Meduseld and what she would call the mundane life Rohan had to offer her. He knew how much she longed to join the riders on their patrol and dreamed of taking place on patrol and delving fearlessly into combat only to know it never to be. There were laws, and more over she was his sister and quite nearly all he had left of family; even if it were permissible he would never allow Eowyn to take up the call of a warrior. Undoubtedly for her own good, his sister needed to find satisfaction in dreams confined to the safety of her mind with the hopes of on rare occasion, such as that day in particular, something foreign and new coming upon Rohan with the hope of giving her enough titillation to last out weeks or even months on end.

"She is elf kind!" Eowyn gasped, leaning closer to the unconscious maiden as though proximity itself would cause her spring back to life at once and spill forth all details of her life and trials as an immortal.

"That she is," Eomer nodded and stepped forward. "For some part at least. I do not think she is of pure blood, her stature is too small…half I would think, perhaps more."

"Elven blood is Elven blood." Myldrith chortled. "What ever she has is doing her good at any rate. She may not yet be wakeful but two days ride without dry robes and little warmth to come by and she is without fever; that is something to behold and no mistake. Her wounds may not even net my preparations for all I know."

"But it surely cannot do any harm." Eowyn encouraged the nursemaid, still mooning over the young elleth.

"Indeed no," Myldrith agreed.

"I wonder what her name is."

"She will be right as ever she once was in no time." The nursemaid forcefully tore a sheet of linen into smaller strips and motioned for Eowyn to aid her with the application of a splint to the stranger's badly broken arm. "Soon you will be able to lay her to her all the questions you so wish."

"An inquisition beyond comparison no doubt." Eomer quipped. "I would have my own questions to pose were she fit to answer." He sighed and pulled his glove back over his hand. "As she is not, however, I must take my leave."

With a polite nod to the women, he shifted his weight and made to exit the room, leaving Eowyn as the follower this time.

"You mean to take your riders out again?" She questioned him quietly.

"You know I must." Eomer replied, crestfallen at his sisters rising sadness. "A hasty departure is better for the men before the comforts of home take too firm a hold over them."

"But you've only just arrived. Stay the night brother…" She implored him. "Please? Keep your sister company."

"Day by day our borders are breached and day by day our people are under threat from beasts that have courage I've not witnessed before in a normal band of Orcs. I must go." He turned from her once more. "You know this."

"Theodred speaks endlessly of taking a company to the wild at length. Why not let him go in your stead?" Eowyn called out as Eomer took a few slow steps down the corridor.

"Strength in numbers Eowyn, both companies should patrol."

"Do not leave me here alone." She lunged for Eomer and clutched at his arm. "You have not left me alone of late and I know it is because you know not all is well in our hall. No one speaks of it but everyone sees it as the days slip by. Our uncle is overwrought and under thumb and I fear what will happen if I am bereft of both of you; _he_ will make move, something will happen, of that I am sure."

"And if he does I will kill him as soon as I would draw breath." Eomer seethed between clenched teeth. "The days of Grima Wormtongue at Meduseld are numbered, that I promise you."

"I do not worry for my safety alone but for that of Theodred, and of yours as well. Something is about to happen Eomer…of that I am certain." Eowyn shuddered slightly at the thought of harm coming to what was left of her family. "At least with one of you keeping guard around the hall his plans are not so easily made; he is weary of retaliation with you two about."

"And so he very well should be."

"Stay Eomer, and keep watch over matters here." She pleaded. "Give word to our cousin and let his company hold patrol for a spell. You are not beyond need for rest and the comforts of home at the very least allow yourself that."

"For the night and that is all. Perhaps two, but no longer." Eomer relented with a smile and a subdued sigh, knowing full well his sister's reasoning was solid. A man of honor and duty he was perpetually torn between his duty to the Rohirrim and his unspoken duty as Eowyn's keeper; too many times had he made the wrong choice; now was the time to once again lend her his strength in any capacity she so needed it.

Eowyn smiled and tugged at his arm excitedly. "We can keep watch over our pretty Elven charge! She will be glad to be in the presence of he who saved her life when she awakes."

"You keep watch over our charge if you so see fit." He snarked with a roll of his eyes and a sardonic smile. "I am tired and I going to bed seeing as you yourself spoke of my need for the comforts of home and a good rest."


End file.
